Sunday, August 13, 2006

Riding a 5-game winning streak, we run headlong into a Lazy Sunday:Terry Pluto weighs in on some of the players acquired at the trade deadline, mainly from the Mariners, and touches on the option of Kouzmanoff as a legitimate contender to play 3B in Cleveland next year.

Hoynsie says that the Tribe is interested again in Octavio Dotel, who could factor into the 2007 bullpen. I wouldn’t want to see HIM as the closer, but he does have a longer track record than the other candidates for the job.

Hoynes also mentions that Bengie Molina will be available in the off-season if the Indians want a C. So, this team, trying to get more athletic in the off-season is going to throw money at probably the least athletic, and slowest, player in the Majors? Uh, no.

I think you are jumping the gun a bit. Sowers has pitched a few times this year and you are ready to add him to the core. I think he has done a great job, but lets see the kid pitch a full season in the big leagues. I would like to see him go into New York and Chicago and pitch like he has been pitching.

Rockdawg is ready to throw Peralta under the bus. C'mon bud. yes , he hasn't played as well as we would have liked him to play this year, but this kid can still play. I think he will be just fine.

Your right Sniffs, I don't mean to throw Peralta under the bus...But his disappointing fantasy numbers are absolutely KILLING me this year. Remeber last year when people were comparing his offensive numbers with Jeter's? It seems like, not only did he forget how to get on base, he ALSO forgot how to field. I am also semi-dillusional these days for three reasons. 1) I haven't had cable (or any TV for that matter) since Carmona was a stud - Pre Boston series. Part of moving and dealing with DirecTV. 2) After hanging up my softball cleets because of a broken thumb suffered during the playoffs, I switched to co-ed kickball (a nice safe sport), and proceeded to break two fingers last Sunday. 3)School starts next week...Feel me Baltimorian? The combination of these three things has made me a bit bitter these days.

Drew Gooden was just signed to a three year deal. I give 48 hours until trade rumors start up again with him.

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- Running back Lee Suggs failed his physical with the New York Jets on Tuesday, voiding his trade from Cleveland.

Suggs, who has had myriad injuries throughout his four-year career, was brought in to help bolster the group of backs struggling without the injured Curtis Martin. Now he is headed back to the Browns. Cornerback Derrick Strait, who was sent to Cleveland in the deal made Monday, returns to New York.

"We have a whole series of tests that we do, and we were very thorough with the process," Jets coach Eric Mangini said. "He just didn't pass those tests. ... Each team has a criteria they set up that they believe is what's important and what's needed to be competitive. I'm very comfortable with the tests we have set up."

Despite Mangini's posturing, the voided trade is a setback for the Jets. The spin here is that Suggs was acquired to ramp up competition at the tailback spot, but clearly the Jets felt he was an upgrade over the young veterans already on the roster. Fifth-year veteran Derrick Blaylock and second-year pro Cedric Houston remain the top two tailbacks. In a conversation with ESPN.com on Monday, following the announcement of the trade, Suggs said he was looking forward to getting a fresh start with a team that seemed to need his services. He is probably no better than the No. 3 tailback on the Cleveland roster. A third-round pick in the 2004 draft, Strait has been a disappointment with the Jets, but the Browns have several injuries at the cornerback spot and needed him for depth. A former Oklahoma standout, Strait has played in 21 games in two seasons and has 43 tackles and one pass defensed.

The 33-year-old Martin, who is No. 4 on the all-time rushing list, continues to rehab and his future is in doubt. Though Martin wants to play this season, it is unclear whether he will be able to. It has been eight months since he had surgery on his knee.

Suggs hasn't been able to stay on the field for the Browns, who selected him in the fourth round of the 2003 draft. At various times in his pro career, Suggs has been sidelined by injuries to a shoulder, neck, toe, ankle and thumb.

Mangini declined to say what part of the physical Suggs failed.

"It's just standard operating procedure. You go through a trade, you have to go through the complete process," Mangini said. "This is part of the process. Lee has done a good job in Cleveland, he's a good person and that's part of the reason we pursued him. I really think the opportunity was good for both players and both teams. I wish Lee well, and I look forward to Derrick getting back here and getting to work."

Mangini also declined to give a timetable for Martin's return and said the trade had no bearing on the running back's future.

"We were looking at it as an opportunity to improve the competition at the position," Mangini said. "Our goal is to increase competition and to make our team that much more competitive and improve the team where we can."

He also didn't rule out future deals to bring in another running back.

"It's fair to assume that there could be a lot of moves," Mangini said. "The moves are going to be predicated on the opportunities, and the opportunities are going to based on whether that move can improve the team."

The speedy 6-foot, 213-pound Suggs appeared in only seven games as a rookie because of a shoulder injury he sustained at Virginia Tech. Suggs won a starting job in training camp in 2004 but hurt his neck in the final preseason game and was inactive for the first three games of the regular season. He returned to play in seven games before missing three straight with a toe injury.

Suggs hurt his ankle during the preseason last year and missed Cleveland's first two games. He dressed in Weeks 3 and 4 but injured his thumb and was inactive for six weeks.

Suggs has rushed for 1,048 yards and four TDs as a pro.

Information from The Associated Press and ESPN.com senior writer Len Pasquarelli was used in this report.

"We have a whole series of tests that we do, and we were very thorough with the process," Jets coach Eric Mangini said. "He just didn't pass those tests. ... Each team has a criteria they set up that they believe is what's important and what's needed to be competitive. I'm very comfortable with the tests we have set up."

Um, I wonder if the Browns should use some of those tests too? Unless they were trying to trade known damaged goods...